Nox
by thekeyprovince
Summary: Lior was just your typical working woman on her day off, well, that was untill her grandmothers old orb sucked her into the land of NOx! how will she ever get home? and what does necromancy have to do with it? Please R&R, rated T for latter
1. Appearance

Nox

Appearance

The day started off normal enough, the sun was shining and the birds were singing, a little too loudly for five in the morning but they were still singing. Lior sighed and pulled the covers over her head, this was not how she wanted to start her weekend. Finally giving into the birds chirping and the sunlight streaming in through her drapes, she gave one last frustrated grumble before throwing off her covers and placing her feet on the rugged floor. She stretched, yawned and got up, shooting the offensive birds one last glare before she headed to the washroom to get ready for her day. Once cleaned up she put on the clothes that she had prepared the day before, a pair of dark wash jeans, a dark green tank top, a grey cardigan, and a pair of black socks. Taking one last look to make sure that her hair was in place she turned to her shoe rack.

"hmmm... what do I feel like today..." she mused, glancing over her small collection of footwear . Her eyes finally settling on her steal-toed combat boots. Putting them on, she headed downstairs for breakfast.

Humming quietly to herself while putting the now empty dishes into the dishwasher, Lior walked over to the computer room.

"good morning grandma, how are you today?" she asked a faintly glowing crystal orb. "I sure miss you grandma... I wonder where you disappeared to all those years ago", sighing slightly at the memory Lior fired up her computer, or at least, she tried to. "blasted machine" she spat "what's wrong with you now?"

In her anger Lior failed to notice that the orb was glowing a little brighter than normal, however when the glow brightened to that of a desk lamp she took notice.

"what the..." she began as a glowing vortex began to swirl behind the crystal object. Suddenly things began to be sucked into the glowing blue and black portal.

"whoa!" Lior cried as she felt herself being dragged in. Clutching her desk in a vain attempt to prevent herself from being sucked in, she finally lost her grip and flew into the vortex along with her computer and her grandmother's crystal orb.

Lior's pov

Suddenly the sensation of falling hit me, I opened my eyes and stared down in horror as the ground seemed to get ever closer to me. I looked around frantically to see if there was anything I could use to slow my fall.

"great just great... I'm falling to my doom and the only thing to save me is that blasted computer of mine..." I grumbled. Suddenly something that looked like a blimp came up from underneath me. Aiming for it I felt my body hit the fabric, slowing me down just enough so that I got little more than a few bruises when my body hit the wooden deck.

"ouch..." I mumbled as I clutched my side. "I never want to do that again..."

"You'll never do anything ever again if you don't get off my ship you imp!" a gruff male voice said.

I turned around to see an older gentleman with what looked like an old navy uniform, it was a faded blue with once gold shoulder pads, you know the kind with the tassells? He had one of those old three pointed hats he was brandishing a short sword that was aimed precariously close to my neck.

"Wait! Wait! I'm not an imp please don't hurt me!" I cried "I don't know where I am all I know is that a blue glowing vortex sucked me in and put me here, please don't hurt me!" I pleaded

The man stopped and looked at me in shock. "a vortex you say... what do you think caused it?"

"umm..." I stuttered "well... my grandmother's crystal orb started glowing right before happened, maybe that's what caused it..."

He seemed to mull this over... "perhaps, but you will still need some form of payment for a ride. I am the Captain of this air ship, and I do require some form of payment from passengers" he said with a twinkle in his eye. "even those who fall from the sky".

"well..." I glanced around his ship and spotted something I did not expect to see, my computer. I went towards it and picked it up. "will this work?"

The Captain walked over and examined it. "...this is a curious device, what does it do?"

I then proceeded to explain what a computer was and what it could do, he stared at it for a while then spoke.

"yes, this will work, welcome aboard my air ship, now I don't believe I know your name miss?"

"Lior" I said as I shook his hand. "what is this place?"

"Nox" the old man said "now, we need to figure out what you want to do, there are three paths that can help you to find your way home.

The first path is the way of the warrior, they are strong and brave, they rely on their strength and mastery of skills to do their duty. They have no magic in them but they acquire skills that rival even the most accomplished of wizards. Their leader is a warlord named Horrendous, he rules in the fortress Dün Mir with his brave fire knights. As of late they have a rather nasty tiff with the Wizards, so much so that the two groups will kill or capture each other on sight if not in neutral territory.

The second path is the way of the wizard, they do not rely on strength of body but of mind to get things done. They are the masters of the magic arts here in Nox, unrivalled in their abilities to use magic to make even the most mundane things exciting. Their leader is the Arch wizard Horvath who leads the wizards in learning and deed in their castle Galava.

The third option is the way of the Conjurer, they are a strange breed who use both strength and wisdom to get things done. They are masters of the bow and can summon creatures to do their bidding. They have no real leader and have no true base of operations. However the most powerful one of their order is called Aldwyn, he lives just out side the village of Ix. They are respected by both the warriors of Dün Mir and the wizards of Galava, this is due to that they do not rely completely on either magic or strength to complete their work." the Captain shook his head. "their ways are a mystery and the full extent of what they can do is only accounted for in myths all that is known of their power is their control over animals. Now," he paused. "which group do you choose?


	2. Choice

Choice

"That's it? That's all the info you've got on them?" I said in a rather shocked tone. "I have to choose between a group of testosterone fuelled men running around with large swords. A group of guys that use magic to do whatever they want. And a group of mystery men who the rest of the world hardly even knows about?" I rolled my eyes. "Ya, this is going to be easy... would they even accept a woman?"

"I don't see why the wouldn't" The Captain stated . "Horrendous's sister is a great Fire Knight and is known throughout their order as a woman of brave and noble character. Horvath has a niece who travels all over the world teaching others magic. As for the conjures they have no qualms with women being part of them, at least none that I have heard of."

I nodded my head thinking over my choices, this was not going to be easy... I wasn't a weak woman, but it's not like I was that strong either... I was pretty smart, at least by earth standards but who says that counts for anything here in Nox? I sighed

"Is there anything else you can tell me? This isn't an easy dissension you know..."

The Captain looked at me with a compassionate gaze.

"I know it isn't... but unfortunately the best people to ask would be the the heads of the orders themselves... and unless you enter one of their orders there is no chance of you meeting any of them."

I sighed... of course that would be the case. I mulled over my choices; the warriors didn't seem too bad, I wasn't the strongest person but I wasn't weak either. If I were to go with them things could be interesting... but how would they help me get back if they didn't have magic? The wizards might be able to help me a bit more with going home, but would they want an outsider learning their secrets and then leaving? I'm almost positive that they'd want to keep me around for at least a little while if they were to take me in...

I sighed and rubbed my head, what about the conjures? It doesn't seem like they'd try and keep me here, but what if they couldn't get me home? Sighing again I looked up at the Captain.

"What do you think I should do? You know this place far better then I ever will."

The Captain chuckled. "Perhaps, but it's your life, not mine that we're discussing now isn't it? This is your path, and only you should choose which way you want to go. For better or for worse my dear."

Now knowing with certainty that I would be getting no more information out of this strange old man. I gave one last run-over of the information that he had given me before making my choice.

"I'll become a Conjurer then... I really don't want any more trouble than I already have."

The man smiled and nodded, "Excellent, when following the path of a Conjurer an unnoticeable appearance is the best rout. I'll drop you off by some abandoned mines, they will lead you to the outskirts of the village of Ix. Once there it wouldn't hurt to get to know the Mayor, Theogrin, since you need his permission to leave Ix."

"... why would I need his permission to leave exactly?"

Looking up from making his landing preparations the Captain spoke in a somber tone. "Because there are things that can kill you out in the woods. It's his job to make sure that no townspeople who can't handle themselves outside of the town leave it's relative safety."

"oh..." I paused. "And you think I'll be able to survive?"

The old man chuckled. "I am old but not daft young lady. I can see your will to survive and return home. Not many people have your kind of determination, and those who do rarely let something like the prospect of death keep them from achieving their goals."

"... If you say so Captain..."

He gave a hearty laugh. "I do, but this will help raise your confidence a bit"

He walked over to a large chest, upon opening it he retrieved what looked like a large wooden staff. It had a large head on it with a small metal blade that was carefully grafted underneath it. It looked sturdy enough but I couldn't help but gulp when I saw the word "flimsy" engraved into it's side. Seeing my concern the Captain gave me a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry lass, it's just flimsy in comparison to other stave's. It's not going to break on you any time soon, and besides." he gave a mischievous grin and pulled out a staff of his own also marked "flimsy". "I'll teach you how to use it, we have about a day before we reach Ix. Let's see how quickly I can teach you." he got into a fighting stance. "And just how fast you learn!"

I never even got a hit on him. The guy moved like he'd been doing this all his life, and now that I think about it he probably had. I, on the other hand, got so many bruises and scratches from that blasted blade that I could barely stand after a while. I still kept going though, well, I would have if he hadn't disarmed me...

"That's enough for now Lior, you learn quickly but don't push yourself." he reached into one of his numerous pouches and pulled out a flask of red liquid. "Here, drink this, it will speed up the healing process without making you loose all that muscle being built."

"... what does it taste like? Should I just gulp it down quickly or something?" I asked nervously, taking the bottle.

He shrugged "only if you want to, it's made from berries that grow in all three inhabited areas of Nox. It doesn't taste bad, in fact, it doesn't taste like much at all."

Taking one last sceptical look at the liquid, I downed the continence into my stomach. It had a slightly fruity flavour that resembled some of the flavoured waters back home. He was right though, it didn't taste like much at all. Suddenly I felt the now empty flask heat up slightly, I looked down in amazement to see the flask slowly vanish in to a cloud of grey smoke. The Captain, no doubt seeing my face let out a _very_ obnoxious laugh.

"Don't be so surprised" he chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye. "once a bottle is used it gets teleported back to where it came from to get cleansed and reused"

"Oh..." I was still a little confused but managed to shrug it off. It wasn't worth worrying about.

Smiling a bit the Captain asked "So, how do you feel?"

I was taken aback by the question. How did I feel? He had just put me through a mini version of hell and he was asking me how I felt? I was about to say as much when I actually took a moment to think about it.

"... Actually I feel fine..." I looked down at my previously beaten body. Every cut, every bruise, every sore joint and muscle was healed. "Wow... I definitely need to learn how to make this stuff..."

Chuckling, the old man gestured for me to follow him. "It's getting late, here will be your quarters. We'll do some more training tomorrow before you leave."

I thanked him for his kindness and quickly fell asleep, dreaming of home.


	3. Discovery

Discovery

"You ready for this Lior? I'll try to keep in contact with you throughout your travels to guide and assist you." Reaching into one of his many pockets the old man pulled out what looked like a mini version of my grandmothers orb. Besides the size difference the smaller object glowed a soft silver instead of blue.

"This is a communication orb, I'll contact you if I find out anything that could prove useful to you in your quest to get home. All you have to do is speak into it, however" he gave me a stern look. "I am not here to babysit you, you must figure things out on your own do you understand me?"

I smiled and took it "Of course, I wouldn't want to be a burden to you"

The Captain smiled at that. "Good now we should get going"

We stepped into a basket and it slowly lowered down to the ground, the view was amazing. I could see the village of Ix, an area that the Captain called the temple of Ix... they really need to get better at naming places... and small hut outside of the town.

Pointing to the hut I asked "That's Aldwyn's place right?"

He nodded "That's where you're headed, and here" he stated as we touched down onto the soft grass, handing me a bag of food as we did. "Is where you begin, good luck and safe travel."

I smiled at him and turned to leave when I made a snap decision. I turned back to him, gave him a quick hug and a thank you and took off into the abandoned mines.

Right away I could see why they had been abandoned, some of the tunnels had already collapsed as I looked around a slight glow caught my eye. Walking over to it I found that it was a bottle filled with a softly glowing blue liquid, I think the Captain called it "mana" or something. I felt a strange attraction to the bottle and without a second thought I chugged it down.

"...What... what did I just do?" I stammered "I really hope I don't die from this..."

I looked down at my hands to see in anything would happen, and boy did something happen. I almost wet myself when I saw my skin glow blue for a moment before turning back to normal. I could feel a hum in the air that I couldn't before, it was as if the place was alive with energy. I walked a bit further, feeling a bit dazed by this new sensation. My eyes wandered around and I found myself looking at a really old book, picking it up I took a look at the cover.

"My first Pixie swarm, a spell book... by Morrdwyn. Okay then..."

Opening it up, the book suddenly began to glow. The same eerie blue that the potion I had taken a few minuets before. The book began to dissolve into a fine mist and swirled around me, I jumped back slightly and gasped. Suddenly it rushed into my mouth, I tried to let out a shriek once I felt it enter. I closed my eyes tightly as I felt information run through my head at an alarming speed. Clutching my head I leaned up against a wall gasping for air.

"What on Ear-Nox... was that?"

"Yay she found us!" I heard a voice say.

"I was beginning to think we'd be lost forever" Wait... another one? Where were these voices coming from?

"Oh you're such a pessimist"

"Well you're such an optimist!"

"Oh great... now I'm loosing my mind. What next? Am I going to see pink elephants flying around now?" I muttered.

"Well I don't know what this "elephant" is but nope! You'll just see us pixies flying around you!"

"And to show our thanks for getting us out of that book we'll protect you!"

"That's right! We'll kill your enemies and then disappear until you call us again."

"We will require mana to summon though."

"Mana? Is that that blue stuff that I drank?"

The voices laughed. "Yep! That's the stuff. Now try summoning us, you'll know how to do it."

Before I could protest words popped into my head and out of my mouth. I was speaking some weird language in sync to some equally strange hand signs. It was over almost as soon as it began, two small glowing creatures that I could only assume were pixies came out of nowhere. They looked a bit like dragonflies, well, if dragonflies could glow gold and grew to about a foot long.

"... That has GOT to be one of the strangest things I have ever done."

I was surprised when I got no answer. "Uh, guys? Pixies? Why can't I hear you?"

After a few minutes of waiting for a response I decided to let it be and continued walking. When I had gone a ways the ground suddenly shook. Bracing myself against a wall I looked frantically for a way out, finding an opening in the wall I was just about to make a run for it when a giant Grizzly bear came roaring out of it. Before I could do anything the roof of the cave dislodged a giant rock. I watched in awe as the rock fell on, and crushed the bear... just as the wall to my left crumbled into a pile of rock and dust.

"... What just happened?"

Getting no response from my glowing companions I sighed and headed to check out where the bear came from. In the back I spotted an ancient looking trunk, finding no lock I opened it up.

"...Okay then..." I muttered as I picked up what looked like a piece of leather armour. Shrugging, I pulled the leather breastplate over my head.

"One size fit's all here I suppose" I mussed as the leather garment formed around me.

The rest of the cave was fairly uneventful. I found a few more chests that contained some small sacks of what I could only guess was the local currency, and some more equipment. Besides a few cat sized spiders (I was ever so thankful for not having arachnophobia) and some equally large bats, it was pretty quiet. As I was making my way along the cave I saw some daylight and made a run for it. Just as I made it out the ground shook, knocking me off my feet. Turning to see what had happened I gasped, feet from where a hole had been was now a wall of rock.

"... Well... I'm glad that's over..."

I attempted to stand up, my knees were shaking so badly that I had to wait a few minutes before my attempts were successful. Gazing at my new surroundings I noticed some smoke in the distance.

"Looks like that's where I'm headed, well you two" I spoke to my now silent companions. "Let's go"


End file.
